US: All Options Open To Stop N. Korea Taking Provocative Action

4/17/2012 8:29 AM ET

The United States, in association with its ally South Korea, is studying all options to prevent North Korea from taking new provocative action after its botched rocket launch, the U.S. military commander in the Asia-Pacific said on Tuesday.

Talking to South Korean defense journalists in Seoul, chief of the U.S. Pacific Command Admiral Samuel Locklear said the U.S. military and South Korea were closely monitoring the Communist State to see whether it was taking more provocative actions, South Korea's official media reported.

Ignoring international concerns, North Korea on Friday launched a satellite carrying rocket which exploded soon after lift-off and fell into the sea. The U.N. Security Council and several countries had condemned the rocket launching which, the West, South Korea and Japan suspected, was meant for testing its ballistic missile technology.

Asked whether the United States is ready to carry out an air strike on North Korea's launch facilities or nuclear test sites, Locklear said "the U.S. and South Korea are looking at all options."

Replying to a question, he said he did not know the "missile" displayed by the North at a military parade on Sunday was really an intercontinental ballistic missile.